Side hustles for nurses are not new. In fact, a survey from connectRN and The Nursing Beat found that more than 50% of nurses have a side job to make extra money.   I’m a critical care nurse and I am one of those nurses with a side hustle.  Want to know what mine is? Well, you’re looking at it! It’s my blog and all the monetization methods that go along with blogging, like affiliate marketing and digital marketing.

Although I am partial to blogging, I know it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. So, I made a list 20 options for nurses to supplement their primary source of income and I list them out here in this blog post.

All of the side hustle options below that are in the nursing field, require nurses to adhere to regulatory requirements and professional standards.  Nurses must complete continuing education requirements and maintain their nursing license to work in these settings.  This may be common sense, but since I am describing each job in more detail, I figured I would include the common denominator between all of the nursing-related jobs listed here-which is you must be a nurse in good standing!

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on them, I may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you.  See my disclaimer page for more information.

Nurses can participate in vaccination clinics as a way to earn extra money. They administer vaccines to community members, which can be done in various settings such as pharmacies, schools, workplaces, community centers, or mobile clinics.  This side hustle provides nurses with the flexibility to work a vaccination clinic on their days off from their primary job.

Medical transcription involves listening to voice recordings made by healthcare professionals, of patient visits, procedures, and medical reports.  The medical transcriptionist nurse transcribes these recordings into written documents.

These reports may include information such as patient medical history, medical diagnosis, treatment, and other medical information.  

As such, nurses are the perfect candidates for this job, because they already have a deep understanding of medical terminology, procedures, and diagnoses.  Nurses can also use their clinical experience and attention to detail to ensure the accuracy of their transcriptions.

Medical transcriptionists can work remotely from home and can find opportunities to work in this role with medical transcription companies, healthcare staffing agencies, healthcare facilities, and freelance platforms.

Specialized equipment and software is required to perform medical transcription, but training and equipment should be provided by the company (check to make sure!)

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Nursing education can be a pretty broad category for nurses because there are so many options. Registered nurses can teach ongoing nursing courses, like CNA, LPN, or RN classes, at community colleges, online platforms, or vocational schools.

Nurses can also teach a CPR/first aid class, here and there, to earn extra money when needed. These classes can be taught to businesses, schools, childcare providers, and community organizations.

Another option is to teach nursing students the hands-on portion of nursing in clinical sessions (in hospitals, or other healthcare facilities).  Nurses can also teach NCLEX prep to graduating nursing students, to help them prepare for their licensing exam.

Telehealth nursing offers patient consultations, patient education, medication management assistance, and chronic disease management, via video or phone call.  Telehealth nurses assess caller health concerns, provide medical advice, and refer callers to helpful resources.

Telehealth nursing positions can be found through health insurance companies, health institutions, or telemedicine companies.  It can be done remotely from home, making it a flexible choice for nurses who have a primary job.

Nurses that go into telehealth, will likely have to get nursing licenses in additional states because they will be accepting calls from all over the United States.  The institution that hires you for this role should pay for those additional nursing licenses (or at least the company that I did telehealth paid for it.  I wouldn’t work for a company that does not pay for it,  because this can be ALOT of money.  Ask about this in the interview).

A doula helps expectant mothers during childbirth and the postpartum period.  A doula offers prenatal education, emotional support, and physical comfort measures during labor (like massage and positioning), advocacy during childbirth, assistance with breastfeeding, and postpartum support.

Postpartum support can include newborn education, referrals to community resources, and ongoing emotional support after delivery.

Before the birth, a doula meets with expectant mothers and their partners to discuss their birthing preferences, concerns, and expectations, as well as establish rapport, and develop a personalized birth plan uniquely tailored to each situation.

Certification or licensure is currently not required to be a doula, but doulas do have to meet certain requirements to receive reimbursement from insurance.

A mobile phlebotomist or nurse travels to the patient’s location to draw blood for medical testing.  Their clientele may include individuals, healthcare facilities, and home health agencies.  My husband is a firefighter and they actually have a mobile unit with nurses to come to their fire department and perform complete physicals on all the firefighters at one time, so that’s another related option.

Mobile phlebotomist nurses can usually make more money since they can charge their clients more for the convenience of traveling to the patient’s location.

This position is a flexible option for nurses who want a side hustle that works around their primary nursing job.  They can also network in the community, as they travel.

Medical coders and billers translate medical services, procedures, diagnoses, and equipment into a universal alphanumeric code to be billed and submitted for payment. This position can compliment a nurse’s clinical skills and provide the nurse with a well-rounded understanding of healthcare delivery and reimbusement processes.

This is another job that nurses can do remotely from home, making it a flexible option to do on a nurse’s days off.  

An additional certification and training may be required (Certified Professional Coder-CPC, Certified Coding Specialist-CCS).  The demand for medical billing and coding is expected to grow, as healthcare services expand and insurance regulations become more complex.

Home health nurses come to a patient’s home to provide medical care and provide support.  Specific home health nursing tasks may include wound care, medication management, infusion therapy, chronic disease management, and patient education.

Other features of home health nursing can include developing meaningful relationships with patients and their families, coordinating care, and providing emotional support to patients in their homes.

Home health nurses can act more autonomously since they work independently, which may be an attractive feature of this job.  It also gives nurses a chance to get out of the standard healthcare setting and explore the community around them.

Health coaches provide guidance to their clients, to help them achieve their health and wellness goals via patient education, behavior modification, and providing support.  They also empower clients to take ownership of their health, make sustainable lifestyle changes, accept accountability, provide motivation, and help them overcome obstacles to help them achieve their goals.

These coaching sessions can be done over the phone, or via video conferencing, making it a job that can be done remotely from home. It also provides enough flexibility to work around the nurse’s primary job.  

A nurse is a perfect fit for this side hustle because they have the communication skills, education, and empathy that are needed to be an effective health coach.  Health coaching also compliments the nursing profession, as it focuses on illness prevention, and health and wellness promotion.

Health coaching may appeal to nurses who prefer a more holistic approach to wellness.  Examples include nutrition exercise, stress management, sleep, and mental health.Specialty areas of health coaching can include weight loss management, prevention or management of chronic diseases, prenatal and postnatal health, stress education, and nutrition counseling.

Health coaching may require additional certification for nurses, such as a Certified Health Coach, or a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).

Case management involves coordinating and managing healthcare services for patients to ensure effective and thorough healthcare.  A nurse’s strong organizational skills, clinical expertise, and desire to support patients through complex medical situations, make it the perfect fit for them.  Nurses also have a compassionate nature and communicate therapeutically, which results in a case manager who provides empathetic care and encouragement.

Case managers are responsible for serving as patient advocates, to ensure that the patient’s needs and concerns are met throughout all points of the healthcare journey.  Nurses are well-positioned for patient advocacy due to their understanding of healthcare systems and clinical knowledge.

Case managers also identify barriers to care (like access to services, financial barriers, and patient environment) and work to eliminate them.

As a nurse case manager, you will use your experience of working with interdisciplinary teams, as you work closely with healthcare providers, social workers, and insurance companies, to coordinate services and resources for your patients.

Specializing in certain populations, such as older adults, pediatrics, or those with chronic illnesses, is an option for case managers.  Nurses can look for case manager job listings with hospitals, home health agencies, clinics, insurance companies, and community organizations.

Nurse case management may require additional certification (Certified Case Manager-CCM, Accredited Case Manager-ACM).

Nurses in medical review services review patient medical records, medical treatment plans, and healthcare claims to verify accuracy, and compliance with regulatory requirements, and ensure quality of care.  Reviews may be conducted for insurance claims, utilization reviews to assess the appropriateness of services, and review of past claims to evaluate the quality of care provided.

During a medical review, complex medical information is analyzed, discrepancies are identified, and recommendations for improvement are noted.  A nurse’s knowledge of medical terminology, procedures, and analytical skills, makes them an ideal candidate for this position.

This job can be done remotely, making it a flexible option for nurses who want to work this as a side hustle on their days off from their primary job.  Additional certification may be required (CPUR-Certified Professional Utilization Reviewer, CMRO-Certified Medical Review Officer).

This job position may be found with healthcare organizations, insurance companies, government agencies, or legal firms.

This position involves selling and promoting products related to health, wellness, and personal care.  Such items may include nutritional supplements, fitness equipment, and wellness devices.

A nurse’s education and experience bring credibility to promoting such health products in this position.  Nurses can also use their clinical knowledge to educate customers about the product benefits, usage guidelines, and possible interactions with current medications or medical conditions.

Clientele may include the nurse’s friends, family, and followers on social media.  Because income is dependent on sales, the earning potential for this job varies, based on product demand, sales volumes, commission structure, and marketing efforts of the nurse.

Participating in medical research may be attractive to some nurses, as they get to contribute to the advancement of medical science while earning money at the same time.

These research trials may include testing new medications or treatments, and observational studies about health trends.  Participants may undergo medical testing, receive treatments, complete questionnaires/surveys, and/or be monitored for a specific period.  Make sure to consider your availability and your primary job’s schedule before signing up to participate.

Each study has specific eligibility criteria (factors such as age, gender, medical history, and current health status), so not everyone who applies to the study will be accepted.   This can possibly limit your earning potential with this side hustle.  Compensation may also very depending on the study’s duration, complexity, and potential risks involved.

Nurses who participate will get to experience research procedures firsthand and gain insight into the research process.  They will also gain valuable insight into innovative healthcare initiatives, research methodologies, can emerging treatments in healthcare.

What is nurse informatics? This side hustle is a combination of nursing science, computer science, and information science, that allows nurses to guide EHR optimization, analyze workflows and implement training programs.

Lactation consultants provide support and education to breastfeeding mothers and their families.  This may include troubleshooting common breastfeeding issues, educating on proper breastfeeding techniques, offering emotional support to postpartum mothers, and identifying breastfeeding challenges to overcome.

Lactation consultants can instruct breastfeeding classes, and perform postpartum breastfeeeding assessments, assist with proper latch and positioning, educate on proper use of breast pumps, and breastfeeding complication management (ex. mastitis).

This side hustle allows nurses the flexibility to schedule patient consultations on their days off and in various settings, such as hospitals, clinics, patient homes, and via telehealth platforms.  Search for job openings for lactation consultants at healthcare facilities, OB offices, and pediatric clinics.

Lactation consultants collaborate with the interdisciplinary team, including obstetricians, pediatricians, midwives, doulas, and other healthcare professionals.

Additional certification may be needed (IBCLC-International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant).

Digital products are goods or services that are delivered electronically in a digital format.  They can be delivered, accessed, and consumed online. Examples can include digital planners, checklists, calendars, and ebooks. I have written an extensive list of the 50 best digital products to sell here.

Digital products are a great side hustle for nurses, because the digital product only has to be made one time, but can be sold over and over again. This is truly a means of earning passive income and allows flexibility for nurses to design them during their off time, but won’t take up all of their free time.

Digital products can be sold on e-commerce marketplaces, like Etsy or Creative Market, or even your own website if you have one.  See an example of a digital planner that I created below- each daily planner page links to Google Calendar and iCal.

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Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design platform (even for beginners!).  Anyone can design templates in Canva for various purposes, such as social media graphics, organization, marketing materials, and SO much more.

Canva templates can be sold on an e-commerce marketplace like Etsy or Creative Market, or on your own website if applicable.   Once you create your template and set it up to deliver to your customers automatically after purchase, this is can become a source of passive income for nurses.

⇒⇒ See my shop of Canva templates here.

Designing Canva templates is an easy side hustle for nurses that is flexible with their job, and can be done from home.  Nurses can niche down with their clinical knowledge, and sell Canva templates that address common healthcare concerns, patient education needs, and promotional materials for healthcare organizations.

OR they can use their Canva template business as a way to rest from nursing and do something completely different like I do. (See an example of my work in the photo below. Get the full template to edit yourself in Canva by completing the form below).

⇒⇒ See Canva’s Content License and Commercial Usage Terms here, so you don’t get yourself in trouble.

Digital stickers are digital graphics that can be used in digital planners, social media, journals, and other digital products.  Like regular stickers, they may serve as a label, or as a more decorative element.

This side hustle option may seem like the most ridiculous one on this list, but people make THOUSANDS of dollars selling digital stickers online.  Sell them on e-commerce platforms or your self-hosted website.

This option gives nurses the flexibility to work on their days off, is a means of earning passive income, and gives you the chance to express your creative side.

⇒⇒ Learn how to make digital stickers to sell, here on Skillshare.

Virtual assistants provide remote administrative work, such as email and calendar management, data entry, bookkeeping, social media management, and customer service.  This job is done completely remotely, giving nurses the flexibility to work from home on their days off.

The nursing profession compliments virtual assisting, as nurses are proficient in multitasking, task prioritization, and problem-solving, and have keen attention to detail.

Virtual assistants are needed in various industries, such as healthcare, education, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, and more. This gives nurses the choice to work in an industry they are interested in.

Clientele can be found using social media platforms, freelance platforms and online communities.

What did you think about this list? Do you think you might give any of them a try? Tell me what you think in the comments. Thanks for reading this blog post.

Sarah Grace Vogler, RN, BSN, CCRN is a critical care registered nurse and blogging strategist. She uses this blog as her nursing side hustle. Send any questions about blogging to [email protected], or comment below.